August 2011 Gem Lake Newsletter - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 Also Charitable Gambling Receipts Fund School Program Receipts from charitable gambling in Gem Lake will fund literacy programs at the Willow Lane Elementary School this fall. An award of $1500 was approved at the July City Council Meeting. The council has directed money to the Willow Lane Elementary School for several years to fund programs that encourage reading comprehension and overall literacy. The council also tries to direct as much money as possible from the charitable gambling receipts to the White Bear Lake Area Emergency Food Shelf. Last winter, a donation was also made by Gem Lake to the Union Gospel Mission. When you buy pull-tabs at the Country Lounge in Gem Lake, this is how your money gets recycling into helping others. Garden Overlay District Ordinance Approved Gem Lake Ordinance #122, which deals with garden overlay districts, was approved by the City Council at the July City Council Meeting. The Gem Lake Planning Commission drafted and approved the ordinance earlier this summer and sent it to the council their review. The ordinance allows for a garden "overlay" zone for larger undeveloped parcels in Gem Lake, including the city's Gateway Zoning District. This would allow for the temporary use of this land for agricultural purposes, under set guidelines, while the market for commercial and residential development recovers from the current downturn. The land-use plans for Gem Lake have not historically assigned any land in the city for long- term agricultural use. This is due to the fact that the city has developed, and continues to develop, as a primarily residential community, surrounded by fully developed suburban neighborhoods. For a copy of the ordinance, you can contact Kiki Sonnen at Heritage Hall. (See contact information on page 6.) City News Page MS-4 Report to be Subject of Public Hearing MS-4 Report Ready to Be Reviewed By Public A state mandated report on storm water management, called the MS-4 Report has been completed by council member Jim Lindner and accepted by the State of Minnesota. Jim spent countless volunteer hours trudging all over Gem Lake to document and photograph inflows and outflows in our city, as required by the report. The document is now on display at Heritage Hall for anyone who wants to read it. As mandated by law, it will be on display for 30 days. Just in case you don't get a chance to stop by, we are holding a public hearing on it, also required by state law. The public hearing will be held August 16, during the August City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Heritage Hall. Our thanks to Jim Lindner for taking on the task of completing this very detailed report.